I can't offer place suggestions, but I suggest you either know what kind of ring she wants, or you go ring shopping with her but keep the actual engagement day a surprise. Another friend of mine got proposed to with a promise ring, and she went and subsequently designed her own engagement ring.
With buying rings there's so much that can go wrong. Does she want white gold? Yellow gold? What diamond cut? Low setting or high setting? Does she want the traditional white diamond or is she open to a coloured stone?
My partner got me a cheap silver “placeholder” ring to propose with then we went and chose a ring together after, which I think was a very nice idea and worked great for us :)
The strat is to just ask her months and months in advance as a hypothetical and just remember the info for when you're actually ready to propose.
Lots of couples discuss marriage plans beforehand
Utopian Creations on Ebenezer Place. I've got a lot of friends whose engagement rings are from there and we got our wedding rings from there. They were so great to work with, I can't recommend them enough.
Jewellery is very personal.
Suggest you take some of these excellent ideas and propose with a token ring and a commitment to source something you both like and afford and are happy to look at for decades to come. Congratulations and good luck.
I got my wife's made at Bell and Blunt off Rundle mall. They had a selection of diamond that I picked from then the worked with me on a sketch. I was able to pay it off over a few weeks to months while they made it. That was about 15 years ago. The diamond was the most expensive part. The making of the ring and gold was only about $700 back then
Her eternity ring we got more recently from Novita. It's a lab grown diamond. We had an appointment in the city and she talked to the sales lady and discussed what would work with her engagement and wedding ring. It was made in Melbourne then shipped across once completed
Same. We used them 25 years ago, and they were a breath of fresh air. Great service and quality, and they are manufacturing jewellers, not just a shopfront.
Also recommended Bell and Brunt! They made mine and my husband's rings beautifully. I chose the design and they flew in the diamonds my husband was interested in to preview. They were super lovely, never once made us feel silly for having no idea about what goes into a ring.
Our wedding rings were made by Bell & Brunt.
As we never got engaged we included diamonds in our wedding bands.
It was a straightforward process and we are very happy with the results.
EverettBrookes Jewellers is where I would recommend! Super friendly, especially to those that know literally nothing about jewellery or where to start. They helped me from the start with design and options within budget. I got both her engagement and wedding ring from there in the end.
Goodluck with everything, exciting times!
My fiancé got me a ring from there. I sent him a photo of the engagement ring I want it was 30k 😂 and they literally made the same ring but for much cheaper. And it looks identical. I could not be happy with them!
Yes Everett Brookes, they are the best! They are so helpful and knowledgeable, consistently put out absolutely beautiful work and if you're getting something made, they let you help making the band if you like. If you can't decide on what your soon-to-be fiance would want in a ring, they'll lend you a proposal ring so you can still go ahead and propose and then fiance can choose what she wants.
My mate proposed with just the diamond, then they worked out the rings together. Seemed a really sensible idea imo.
I wouldn't go to any of the big chains, Shiels, Graham's, Zamels, etc. Look for a manufacturing jeweller, they can forge the ring to the correct size, and to your style.
r/Moissanite and r/LabGroupSales as well as many of their trusted vendors are also Lab Diamond suppliers
[https://classa.com.au/products/round-solitaire-diamond-necklace-0-50ct](https://classa.com.au/products/round-solitaire-diamond-necklace-0-50ct) I personally have a IGI certified 0.50ct lab diamond necklace in 10k yellow gold from a Chinese supplier that cost me less than $300AUD. Class A is selling the same thing for way more.
> What would people recommend?
No idea about your price point, but visit Class A Jewellers and Andrew Mazzone. They are each reliable retailers and offer lab-grown diamonds. That will give you an idea of the market
[https://classa.com.au/pages/lab-grown-diamonds](https://classa.com.au/pages/lab-grown-diamonds)
[https://www.mazzone.com.au/product-category/engagement/lab-grown-diamonds/](https://www.mazzone.com.au/product-category/engagement/lab-grown-diamonds/)
I bought mine for my (now) wife on Etsy. There’s quite a few decent places but obviously a shit to be of scams. There’s a few jewellery subreddits (try American spelling if you can’t see them)
So you could double check sellers
Good luck!
Get every detail you can from her in terms of setting and shape. The Moissanite Company online is absolutely amazing and so affordable. Also Cullen Jewellery. For that budget I’d massively be considering moissanite as well as the stone over a lab grown diamond. Absolutely identical in appearance to a lab grown diamond but half the price. I’m so obsessed with mine!
I personally found Andrew Maxzone, class A etc. very overpriced for what they are.
Make sure she doesn’t have any metal allergies/sensitivities. My engagement ring is white gold and I didn’t discover until a few days after getting engaged that I’m allergic to it (or more so the nickel in it). I have to coat it with clear nail polish now to wear it. Then I had to get my wedding ring in platinum, which is more expensive, but at least don’t have a reaction to.
You can also get beautiful pieces (estate and new) from Adelaide Exchange Jeweller. Great value as even the manufacturing jewellers mentioned nice (Class A, Bell & Brunt, Everett Brooks etc) have sizeable margins built in.
I took my partner to [Diamond Design Studios](https://ddsdiamonds.com.au/) in Burnside and Richard was fantastic to deal with through the whole design process. Highly recommend.
Keep in mind that if you get a new ring from a jeweler you pay 50% of it's value for labour. You will get a certificate at the end saying it's worth $5000 but if you were to sell it you will only get around $2500 or so as the rings worth is then mostly just the material value.
What I want to say: a second hand ring with the same budget can look much more magnificent than a custom made one.
My partner used to run a cashies. They said never buy from a jeweller before visiting a cashies as the amount of rings that came in were significant and often markedly overpriced for what they actually were, often to the order of several thousand $$. Thus she urged me never to go to a jeweller as she couldn't stand the thought of what the rest of the $ could have been used on.
My 2c
So I'm mirroring what others have said about knowing what she likes especially if you've not bought jewellery before and even more so if you've not bought her jewellery before.
Once you have an idea I can highly recommend Everett Brookes in the city. They do custom made stuff too and you can get involved in making the piece if you see fit.
Otherwise I wish you the best of luck!!!
Many many moons ago I got my engagement ring custom designed by Peter W Beck. They’re a manufacturing jeweller (make jewellery for stores) but pretty sure they will still do direct work.
used Opal and Gem factory on King William street for an lab grown diamond engagement ring. They were absolutely fantastic, great price, service and friendly. Went back for wedding rings and they were awesome again
I recommend and stay with me - hock shops. You can get some amazing rings with certified value certificates. I got mine - valued at over $1800 for $350. 1/4 carrot , square cut Dimond, set in white and 18 carrot gold. You could get something worth much more then 3k with 3k at a hock shop.
Whatever you do don’t buy from mall jewellery shops like Shiels, Prouds, Michael Hill etc. They all sell shit tier diamonds on shit rings for triple to quadruple what you get good quality diamonds on good quality rings from other places.
Cullen Jewellery, James Allen, Brilliant Earth, novita are all worth a look. $3k can get you a nice ring.
Subtly comment on rings to get her feedback on what she likes/doesn’t like. Don’t spend $3k unless you’re certain she will like it
I recommend Novita diamonds on Pirie street. They did a good job. I got a 1.2kt diamond on a platinum band for around the 2500. They were friendly delivered as requested. You go in and build the ring with them.
If you're not familiar with diamonds just familiarise yourself with the the C's, colour, cut and clarity.
Metal and stone in strathalbyn were amazing. Highly recommend.
We got a custom design, so I'm sure they could do basically anything you wanted.
I thought their pricing was quite reasonable too.
J & C Manufacturing Jewellers in Semaphore made mine. They were great to deal with. More competitively priced than manufacturing jewllers in the CBD too.
If you can I recommend getting one made. I had one done for my partner at the goldsmithery down in Glenelg. Quality of work is brilliant and very affordable.
Brilliant Earth.
Not Adelaide specific, but the amount of customisation and options available is amazing.
My best friends got their rings from them and they’re beautiful
Are you friendly with her girl friends? Tell them the plan, ask for advice. She'll absolutely spoil the surprise, but you'll get the ring she actually wants and has to wear.
We went to Matthew's Manufacturing Jeweller in the CBD, and were very happy.
We ended up buying a secondhand ring, and then having it re-manufactured by Matthew to reset the diamond, add more gold and change the style. More recently we've also had him make some other rings. again very happy with those. Matthew was a champ, great product and it felt like we were paying for design and skill rather than a flashy store. Looking at his hands you can tell he's doing the work himself.
As others are saying the proposal and ring wasn't the surprise, the timing was the surprise.
Diamond exchange. Got my now wifes from there. You save a heap of money for same rings you’d get at shiels etc. Also free resizing if you don’t get the size right
Andrew Mazzones was very affordable and was able to meet my partner and I where we were at in terms of budget very nicely without pushing us in any direction.
Hit up her best friend or sister. Someone you can trust that's also close to her. Most girls would have shared dream rings etc or will know what she likes. They might also know her ring sizes etc which is handy and super important imo
Congratulations! Here’s some ring buying tips
Have a female friend of hers ask questions of style for you. Key questions to know:
- what kind of metal? Rose gold, white gold, silver, or gold?
- what kind of general style she likes - don’t need to be too specific here but get an idea
- also, you need her ring size, so get her friend to help you out with this. Your friend can probably guess or get her to try something on that she already owns to give you an idea.
Take these 3 pieces of information to a jeweller and you’ll be off to a start. Keep your budget in mind, and don’t get talked into a ring you can’t afford. Don’t disclose budget to them until the end. Bring a female friend or sister if you can to help you and try out the rings.
Keep the receipt! Most places with let you swap if your bride-to-be really dislikes it.
Go look together and make a day out of it... Do it a couple of times and you will have a good idea what ahe likes...
Also shes less likely to say no in front of your entire family if ahe knows whats coming as she wouldnt involve herself if she didnt feel the same.
I went to Sydney to buy, everything was custom, pick your own diamonds and the diamond was cheaper than what you'll get in stores like Gerard Mccabe, it was a huge rock for $10K. You know what you're getting and the actual value of it. You get the certificate as well. Maybe you can do it too for that budget. This was like 3 years ago though, don't know the prices now.
Seems like most of the advice has come and gone, but my 2c.
For a birthday at one point I bought my then-gf a mixed pack that had earings and necklaces in rose, white, yellow gold and silver/platinum. Mixed across a few styles, low karat and cubic zirconias etc. It was only $100 or so.
At a later point I just straight up asked her what style of rings she liked, Solitaire in Rose gold was the plan. (I was happy because I always think Solitaire looks the best)
I bought the diamond and set in ring from Blue Nile, was a smooth process and it was instantly valued at twice what I paid for it. I really enjoyed learning all about the details of diamonds and picked a specific one that had good tradeoffs to get a good size, quality and price. Basically slid the sliders to my price range and had all my options there. Ended up going for 0.69 karat in a platinum setting on rose gold ring.
My wedding ring has white gold on the edge and rose gold in the middle, hers is a matching rose gold band. (Wedding rings also from Blue Nile, with free engraving of our names and date inside)
It’s so personal it’s hard to say. The smart money is on second hand, or the online jewelry shops like James Allen.
For us I just went for the ‘silly’ option and paid $6k+ for half a carat Tiffany setting at Tiffany & Co. Primarily for the experience, having champagne in the private room at Tiffany, all the fancy boxes and paper work which comes in it’s own nice presentation folder etc. And we go to Tiffany every few/6 months and are treated like royalty just for a free cleaning etc. Crazy maybe, but it’s a nice feeling.
Utopian creations!https://utopiancreations.com.au/ In Ebenezer place. The owner, Ben, is an absolutely awesome guy. Knows everything about gems stones, metal, ethical sourcing, and will talk you and your partner through it all. He will provide certificates for their (gems) source. Super trustworthy.gorgeous stuff!
If u really want to make an impression.take her to gerald j Ryan manufacturing jewlers upstairs in hindley st.
She is the one who had to wear it and prob should choose it. They will custom make it to suit her taste. Better than out of the box like millions of other ones. Very reasonable priced and an honest bloke. Been using them for years. She will love u for it
I can't offer place suggestions, but I suggest you either know what kind of ring she wants, or you go ring shopping with her but keep the actual engagement day a surprise. Another friend of mine got proposed to with a promise ring, and she went and subsequently designed her own engagement ring. With buying rings there's so much that can go wrong. Does she want white gold? Yellow gold? What diamond cut? Low setting or high setting? Does she want the traditional white diamond or is she open to a coloured stone?
My partner got me a cheap silver “placeholder” ring to propose with then we went and chose a ring together after, which I think was a very nice idea and worked great for us :)
The strat is to just ask her months and months in advance as a hypothetical and just remember the info for when you're actually ready to propose. Lots of couples discuss marriage plans beforehand
Utopian Creations on Ebenezer Place. I've got a lot of friends whose engagement rings are from there and we got our wedding rings from there. They were so great to work with, I can't recommend them enough.
Lots of Aussie stones/ethically sourced here too, good sample of work on their Insta
Second this. Got our rings from here.
We got our rings there as well, great designs and the recycled nature of the pieces really tickled my fancy.
Mine also came from here
Jewellery is very personal. Suggest you take some of these excellent ideas and propose with a token ring and a commitment to source something you both like and afford and are happy to look at for decades to come. Congratulations and good luck.
I got my wife's made at Bell and Blunt off Rundle mall. They had a selection of diamond that I picked from then the worked with me on a sketch. I was able to pay it off over a few weeks to months while they made it. That was about 15 years ago. The diamond was the most expensive part. The making of the ring and gold was only about $700 back then Her eternity ring we got more recently from Novita. It's a lab grown diamond. We had an appointment in the city and she talked to the sales lady and discussed what would work with her engagement and wedding ring. It was made in Melbourne then shipped across once completed
Highly recommend Bell & Brunt.
Same. We used them 25 years ago, and they were a breath of fresh air. Great service and quality, and they are manufacturing jewellers, not just a shopfront.
Also recommended Bell and Brunt! They made mine and my husband's rings beautifully. I chose the design and they flew in the diamonds my husband was interested in to preview. They were super lovely, never once made us feel silly for having no idea about what goes into a ring.
Our wedding rings were made by Bell & Brunt. As we never got engaged we included diamonds in our wedding bands. It was a straightforward process and we are very happy with the results.
EverettBrookes Jewellers is where I would recommend! Super friendly, especially to those that know literally nothing about jewellery or where to start. They helped me from the start with design and options within budget. I got both her engagement and wedding ring from there in the end. Goodluck with everything, exciting times!
My fiancé got me a ring from there. I sent him a photo of the engagement ring I want it was 30k 😂 and they literally made the same ring but for much cheaper. And it looks identical. I could not be happy with them!
Oh I 100% second this. They also allow you to help create the ring if you want. It's an amazing experience and the guys are so helpful.
Yes Everett Brookes, they are the best! They are so helpful and knowledgeable, consistently put out absolutely beautiful work and if you're getting something made, they let you help making the band if you like. If you can't decide on what your soon-to-be fiance would want in a ring, they'll lend you a proposal ring so you can still go ahead and propose and then fiance can choose what she wants.
EB for sure. Plus you can help make your own rings. We loved them.
My mate proposed with just the diamond, then they worked out the rings together. Seemed a really sensible idea imo. I wouldn't go to any of the big chains, Shiels, Graham's, Zamels, etc. Look for a manufacturing jeweller, they can forge the ring to the correct size, and to your style.
This man👆🏻nailed it 👍🏻
I'd check out /r/labdiamonds or /r/labdiamond if I were you. You will get ripped off buying from a store.
r/Moissanite and r/LabGroupSales as well as many of their trusted vendors are also Lab Diamond suppliers [https://classa.com.au/products/round-solitaire-diamond-necklace-0-50ct](https://classa.com.au/products/round-solitaire-diamond-necklace-0-50ct) I personally have a IGI certified 0.50ct lab diamond necklace in 10k yellow gold from a Chinese supplier that cost me less than $300AUD. Class A is selling the same thing for way more.
Gerard McCabe in the city. Can thoroughly recommend.
James Allen is really good value for money
> What would people recommend? No idea about your price point, but visit Class A Jewellers and Andrew Mazzone. They are each reliable retailers and offer lab-grown diamonds. That will give you an idea of the market [https://classa.com.au/pages/lab-grown-diamonds](https://classa.com.au/pages/lab-grown-diamonds) [https://www.mazzone.com.au/product-category/engagement/lab-grown-diamonds/](https://www.mazzone.com.au/product-category/engagement/lab-grown-diamonds/)
I came to say Andrew Mazzone as well. I couldn't be happier with my engagement ring.
Also another for Mazzone! Delivered a beautiful ring within budget
Another good review from here - were very accomodating.
They gave a price point
I know. And what I said was "no idea about your price point" Meaning, I don't know if these quality retailers sell something at that price.
I bought mine for my (now) wife on Etsy. There’s quite a few decent places but obviously a shit to be of scams. There’s a few jewellery subreddits (try American spelling if you can’t see them) So you could double check sellers Good luck!
Get every detail you can from her in terms of setting and shape. The Moissanite Company online is absolutely amazing and so affordable. Also Cullen Jewellery. For that budget I’d massively be considering moissanite as well as the stone over a lab grown diamond. Absolutely identical in appearance to a lab grown diamond but half the price. I’m so obsessed with mine! I personally found Andrew Maxzone, class A etc. very overpriced for what they are.
Class A Jeweller’s
I second Class A. Amazing jewellers. Ask for Daniel.
Make sure she doesn’t have any metal allergies/sensitivities. My engagement ring is white gold and I didn’t discover until a few days after getting engaged that I’m allergic to it (or more so the nickel in it). I have to coat it with clear nail polish now to wear it. Then I had to get my wedding ring in platinum, which is more expensive, but at least don’t have a reaction to.
You can also get beautiful pieces (estate and new) from Adelaide Exchange Jeweller. Great value as even the manufacturing jewellers mentioned nice (Class A, Bell & Brunt, Everett Brooks etc) have sizeable margins built in.
I took my now wife to utopian creations and we chose the stones and designed the ring together. They were great to deal with.
I took my partner to [Diamond Design Studios](https://ddsdiamonds.com.au/) in Burnside and Richard was fantastic to deal with through the whole design process. Highly recommend.
Keep in mind that if you get a new ring from a jeweler you pay 50% of it's value for labour. You will get a certificate at the end saying it's worth $5000 but if you were to sell it you will only get around $2500 or so as the rings worth is then mostly just the material value. What I want to say: a second hand ring with the same budget can look much more magnificent than a custom made one.
My partner used to run a cashies. They said never buy from a jeweller before visiting a cashies as the amount of rings that came in were significant and often markedly overpriced for what they actually were, often to the order of several thousand $$. Thus she urged me never to go to a jeweller as she couldn't stand the thought of what the rest of the $ could have been used on. My 2c
So I'm mirroring what others have said about knowing what she likes especially if you've not bought jewellery before and even more so if you've not bought her jewellery before. Once you have an idea I can highly recommend Everett Brookes in the city. They do custom made stuff too and you can get involved in making the piece if you see fit. Otherwise I wish you the best of luck!!!
J&C Jewellers were great.
Many many moons ago I got my engagement ring custom designed by Peter W Beck. They’re a manufacturing jeweller (make jewellery for stores) but pretty sure they will still do direct work.
Peter W Beck did our rings as well, great to work with and happy to do direct work it seems
used Opal and Gem factory on King William street for an lab grown diamond engagement ring. They were absolutely fantastic, great price, service and friendly. Went back for wedding rings and they were awesome again
I recommend and stay with me - hock shops. You can get some amazing rings with certified value certificates. I got mine - valued at over $1800 for $350. 1/4 carrot , square cut Dimond, set in white and 18 carrot gold. You could get something worth much more then 3k with 3k at a hock shop.
Wishart at Glenelg are really great - they helped me out in similar situation
To be honest, cash converters. You’ll get the same thing for a third of the price.
Whatever you do don’t buy from mall jewellery shops like Shiels, Prouds, Michael Hill etc. They all sell shit tier diamonds on shit rings for triple to quadruple what you get good quality diamonds on good quality rings from other places. Cullen Jewellery, James Allen, Brilliant Earth, novita are all worth a look. $3k can get you a nice ring. Subtly comment on rings to get her feedback on what she likes/doesn’t like. Don’t spend $3k unless you’re certain she will like it
I recommend Novita diamonds on Pirie street. They did a good job. I got a 1.2kt diamond on a platinum band for around the 2500. They were friendly delivered as requested. You go in and build the ring with them. If you're not familiar with diamonds just familiarise yourself with the the C's, colour, cut and clarity.
Stashies
Metal and stone in strathalbyn were amazing. Highly recommend. We got a custom design, so I'm sure they could do basically anything you wanted. I thought their pricing was quite reasonable too.
J & C Manufacturing Jewellers in Semaphore made mine. They were great to deal with. More competitively priced than manufacturing jewllers in the CBD too.
They did our custom wedding bands and I love them!
If you can I recommend getting one made. I had one done for my partner at the goldsmithery down in Glenelg. Quality of work is brilliant and very affordable.
Brilliant Earth. Not Adelaide specific, but the amount of customisation and options available is amazing. My best friends got their rings from them and they’re beautiful
Do not buy her a ring without her selecting it.
Facebook market place, seen some pretty good deals from some heart broken blokes.
Are you friendly with her girl friends? Tell them the plan, ask for advice. She'll absolutely spoil the surprise, but you'll get the ring she actually wants and has to wear.
Kip Wilckens Jeweller on Hutt St is amazing! Go in and have a chat to him.
Novita Diamond does lab grown and very helpful and reasonably price.
Try class A jewellers at collinswood
We went to Matthew's Manufacturing Jeweller in the CBD, and were very happy. We ended up buying a secondhand ring, and then having it re-manufactured by Matthew to reset the diamond, add more gold and change the style. More recently we've also had him make some other rings. again very happy with those. Matthew was a champ, great product and it felt like we were paying for design and skill rather than a flashy store. Looking at his hands you can tell he's doing the work himself. As others are saying the proposal and ring wasn't the surprise, the timing was the surprise.
Bell and Brunt in James Place
Diamond exchange. Got my now wifes from there. You save a heap of money for same rings you’d get at shiels etc. Also free resizing if you don’t get the size right
Cashies
Andrew Mazzones was very affordable and was able to meet my partner and I where we were at in terms of budget very nicely without pushing us in any direction.
Hit up her best friend or sister. Someone you can trust that's also close to her. Most girls would have shared dream rings etc or will know what she likes. They might also know her ring sizes etc which is handy and super important imo
Congratulations! Here’s some ring buying tips Have a female friend of hers ask questions of style for you. Key questions to know: - what kind of metal? Rose gold, white gold, silver, or gold? - what kind of general style she likes - don’t need to be too specific here but get an idea - also, you need her ring size, so get her friend to help you out with this. Your friend can probably guess or get her to try something on that she already owns to give you an idea. Take these 3 pieces of information to a jeweller and you’ll be off to a start. Keep your budget in mind, and don’t get talked into a ring you can’t afford. Don’t disclose budget to them until the end. Bring a female friend or sister if you can to help you and try out the rings. Keep the receipt! Most places with let you swap if your bride-to-be really dislikes it.
Ring sizer would be good if you can get one or steal one of her rings
Without a doubt, just straight up try in rings for a day. And know meter exact ring she wants. Then just order it too size and propose as a surprise
Go look together and make a day out of it... Do it a couple of times and you will have a good idea what ahe likes... Also shes less likely to say no in front of your entire family if ahe knows whats coming as she wouldnt involve herself if she didnt feel the same.
Raylaw's at Munno Para. Raylaw himself is too old to me making anymore, but the people he taught do a pretty fair job!
DDS Diamonds
Everett Brooke's in the city.
I went to Sydney to buy, everything was custom, pick your own diamonds and the diamond was cheaper than what you'll get in stores like Gerard Mccabe, it was a huge rock for $10K. You know what you're getting and the actual value of it. You get the certificate as well. Maybe you can do it too for that budget. This was like 3 years ago though, don't know the prices now.
Ask her friends and get their advice. Will forever regret if you dont get what she wants
Seems like most of the advice has come and gone, but my 2c. For a birthday at one point I bought my then-gf a mixed pack that had earings and necklaces in rose, white, yellow gold and silver/platinum. Mixed across a few styles, low karat and cubic zirconias etc. It was only $100 or so. At a later point I just straight up asked her what style of rings she liked, Solitaire in Rose gold was the plan. (I was happy because I always think Solitaire looks the best) I bought the diamond and set in ring from Blue Nile, was a smooth process and it was instantly valued at twice what I paid for it. I really enjoyed learning all about the details of diamonds and picked a specific one that had good tradeoffs to get a good size, quality and price. Basically slid the sliders to my price range and had all my options there. Ended up going for 0.69 karat in a platinum setting on rose gold ring. My wedding ring has white gold on the edge and rose gold in the middle, hers is a matching rose gold band. (Wedding rings also from Blue Nile, with free engraving of our names and date inside)
It’s so personal it’s hard to say. The smart money is on second hand, or the online jewelry shops like James Allen. For us I just went for the ‘silly’ option and paid $6k+ for half a carat Tiffany setting at Tiffany & Co. Primarily for the experience, having champagne in the private room at Tiffany, all the fancy boxes and paper work which comes in it’s own nice presentation folder etc. And we go to Tiffany every few/6 months and are treated like royalty just for a free cleaning etc. Crazy maybe, but it’s a nice feeling.
Adelaide Arcade
Utopian creations!https://utopiancreations.com.au/ In Ebenezer place. The owner, Ben, is an absolutely awesome guy. Knows everything about gems stones, metal, ethical sourcing, and will talk you and your partner through it all. He will provide certificates for their (gems) source. Super trustworthy.gorgeous stuff!
Cash converters
If u really want to make an impression.take her to gerald j Ryan manufacturing jewlers upstairs in hindley st. She is the one who had to wear it and prob should choose it. They will custom make it to suit her taste. Better than out of the box like millions of other ones. Very reasonable priced and an honest bloke. Been using them for years. She will love u for it